Party at the Point!

The driving force behind our decision to visit New York this holiday season was the West Point wedding of the son of one of my dearest friends from law school. Miki and I met our third year, when we were both visiting students at Campbell University, having been transplanted to North Carolina thanks to our husbands' military careers. When we met, her son Michael was in second grade, and Fred and I have watched him (and his younger sisters) grow up over the years.

Getting to West Point was slightly trickier than we had anticipated. Remember that movie, "Planes, Trains, & Automobiles"? We felt like we were living it last Friday! First our plane was delayed by a couple of hours. Then we had to take a tram and a shuttle to the Ramada Inn to pick up our rental car (so THAT is why it was so cheap!). And then we had to navigate our way out of Newark and up to West Point in a rain that was just enough to make a nice smear across the windshield but not enough to actually clean it off. We arrived at the Thayer Hotel around midnight, tucked the kids into bed, and took off for the bar in search of the antidote to the caffeine consumed at Dunkin' Donuts along the turnpike.

Saturday morning we let the kids sleep in while Fred and I went to visit some old friends of ours who are currently living at West Point. We got a driving tour of some of the beautiful sites, and before we knew it, it was time to go back to the hotel to get ready for the wedding.

Annabelle was excited to finally get to wear the dress and shoes we had bought just for this occasion:



Mike wore his suit from homecoming and lusted after the Hummer-limo at the church:



The rodents were thrilled to be invited to yet another wedding, and Michael and Christine were happy to pose with them:



Miki and I were pregnant at the same time 15 years ago, she with her daughter Victoria and me with our Mike. Victoria emerged into the world weighing barely 5 pounds and Mike came out at almost 10 pounds, and they have maintained this size difference over the years. Here they are as one year olds, when she was a petite little flower and he was . . . Winston Churchill:



and here they are the other night:



Annabelle's theme song for the evening was "I Could Have Danced All Night." Lucky for her there was plenty of music! Here she is dancing with Fred:



And here is the groom dancing with his little sister Katherine:



And here are Miki and Michael in the traditional mother-son dance:



The wedding was beautiful, and the reception was a blast. We were all grateful to have the chance to share in such a happy occasion!

• The rest of my wedding pictures are here.